Falling Into Grace
by Siren's Bell
Summary: What was the true significance of Jyscal's Sphere? And what are the ramifications if it did not exist? Seymour x Yuna


Yuna's soft features were always steeled with a look of determination and resolve. This was probably the reason the people seemed to flock to her, drawn to her like a magnet. Children clung to her and would smile gleefully when she reassured them Sin would be defeated and The Calm would come again.

Yuna would curse herself when she found she was growing jealous of the other girls her age. Their lives were simple and cloaked with freedom, restricted only by the confines of Sin's rampage. Yuna, on the other hand, was saddled down with duty and the dependency of the people. This was the life she had chosen. Because Sin was so destructive, Yuna had vowed to stop it. And she would remind herself of that vow and pray to Yevon to remove these unclean thoughts so her pilgrimage could continue uninterrupted.

The people depended on her and she had no time for distractions. No time for petty wants and needs. And yet, she found herself drawn to her new blond friend. The one from Zanarkand, as Wakka had so skeptically explained to her. But Yuna _believed _the tale. Sir Jecht had always told her the stories of the City That Never Sleeps. Lulu had scolded her for harboring such silly notions of Zanarkand's existence and for believing _he _was from Zanarkand. But it was relieving. It gave her something else to dwell on, instead of her inevitable fate, or the other girls.

The road to Kilika Temple twisted and curved into the woods, the path littered with dangerous creatures. Kimahri grew angry with the New One when he stepped on the vines of Lord Ochu and angered it, even after Luzu had warned the group of its presence. Yuna thought the fight exciting and simply made the blond stranger all the more appealing to her. It was just another reason to keep him as a guardian. "He is a valiant fighter and he did his best to protect me," she reasoned to Lulu, who merely shook her head in response. It was still too early to tell if this boy was a worthy guardian.

Kilika Temple was reached within an hour's time and the Aurochs gladly obliged when Wakka suggested they rest for a moment. Yuna stood close to the wall of the steps overlooking the forest with her mind preoccupied. Kimahri had not strayed too far from Yuna, the white and dark blue of her outfit still visible in his keen yellow eyes. Lulu held back as well, standing next to Kimahri and discreetly keeping an eye on Wakka and the stranger, though it seemed her eye stayed on Wakka a little longer than she would like.

At the exclamation of a foot race up the steps, Wakka called for Yuna's assistance. In a rather childlike manner, she raised her arm and giggled as the blitzers readied themselves to dash up the stairs. "Ready?" She cried before dashing up the stairs ahead of the others.

"Hey no cheating, ya!" Wakka shouted dashing off after her.

A small smile played at the lips of Lulu as she cast a glance in Kimahri's direction. He was just as amused as she was, despite his perpetual somber features. The belts of her skirt clanked together and she made a move to ascend the steps after her party members before Wakka reappeared at the steps summit. "Sinspawn! Hurry!"

Having arrived at the top of the stairs, Lulu saw the scene unfold in front of them. Yuna gripped her staff as Wakka and the blond stranger surrounded her and fought back the tentacles as they reached for them. Control center for these appendages lay protected in a hard shell. Wakka looked back at their companions and waved at Lulu. "Stay back, Lu. These things absorbed magic!" he cried as he hurled his weapon at one of the appendages. Lulu took a reluctant step back as Kimahri brandished his lance and joined the fray, attacking the harden shell of the beast. Once the shell fell from the Sinspawn and the appendages were gone as well, Lulu took a step forward and unleashed her strongest thunder magic on the now unprotected monster. Yuna stood back, casting her healing magics on those who had been touched by the venom the Sinspawn spewed.

And with a final screech, the monster fell, defeated. The New One's face did little to mask his exhaustion. Even the most rigorous of blitzball moves couldn't compare to the fight he just endured. He hands rested against his knees and he smiled a bit as he watched Yuna move toward him, though her walk was interrupted by Wakka slapping him hard across the back. The New One nearly toppled over before straightening and complaining about how tiring being a guardian was. Yuna liked to think he took a moment to look back at her with those piercing blue eyes of his. For a fleeting moment's time, Yuna would've sworn to Yevon that it was Jecht staring back at her. But quickly the moment passed and the New One returned to being the flaxen haired boy she had met in the Chamber of the Fayth in Besaid.

Yuna was momentarily surprised when Wakka asked about Zanarkand's fiend population. But then she was happy to hear it. It was an excuse to hear more about Zanarkand, the city she longed to see and take in with her very own mismatched eyes. However, the light and happy mood was suddenly shattered when Wakka revealed his hope that maybe; just maybe Chappu wasn't _really _dead. Maybe Sin had dropped him off in some distant land no one had ever heard of. Yuna looked up, her eyes gazing at Lulu's tense shoulders. Chappu was still a touchy subject for the black mage. "Sin didn't take Chappu anywhere. It _crushed _him and left him to die on the Djose shore."

The summoner looked over at Wakka and noticed how embarrassed and ashamed he looked. And yet her interest was on the New One, who seemed more curious about situation than offended. He must've known that Lulu still didn't (and probably never would) believe him about Zanarkand, so he didn't let anything she said bother him. Though Yuna noticed the way his face fell when Lulu spoke again. "No one can replace Sir Jecht, for that matter. And there is no replacement for Lord Braska either."

Lulu's words seemed pointed directly at Yuna and she lowered her gaze when she felt her black mage guardian boring holes into her chest with her piercing eyes.

"It's pointless to think about it, and sad," Lulu reminded them before turning curtly on her heels and continuing up the steps. Yuna and the New One exchanged a glance with each other before Yuna followed suit with Kimahri in tow. What were Yuna's true motives for wanting the New One as a guardian? He certainly had the look of his father, whom Yuna loved very much. And Sir Jecht was her father's guardian. Perhaps she was drawn to him for the simple fact that they were their fathers' children. They shared a common bond. Though Yuna seemed more attached to her father than the New One did. But she liked to think the New One held some degree of affection for his father, even if he didn't want to admit it. The guardians continued on toward Kilika Temple's entrance, but were soon stopped by another distraction.

"The Luca Goers, the best blizters in Spira," Yuna said, answering the unasked question for the New One. He cut his eyes toward them, sizing them up before looking back at Yuna.

"No worries. I've faced tougher and bigger back in Zanarkand," He said with a cocky grin. Yuna smiled and watched him as he moved toward Wakka to help him stand up to the Goers. Confidence was one thing the Aurochs lacked, which probably made it easier for the Goers to mock them. Confidence (if not a bit of arrogance) seemed to shine forth from the New One. And it was obviously contagious as Wakka proudly called after the Goers as they walked away. Yuna moved closer to the New One, her question innocent. "Do you know that team?"

He shook his head, his blond hair brushing against his cheeks as he did so. "But they're just like my old man, putting people down. We'll win, we have to."

Yuna felt her stomach knot up as she quickly came to Jecht's defense. "But Sir Jecht was a kind and gentle man!"

The New One shook his head and vocally disagreed with her. Wakka urged the group on, with warnings of missing their ship to Luca if they didn't hurry to the Chamber of the Fayth. Yuna somberly walked into Kilika Temple and was immediately greeted by the warm breeze wafting from the candles hanging from the walls. Wakka knelt before the statue of Lord Ohalland and began to pray for his guidance. The New One stood for a moment in awe, before kneeling next to Wakka and awkwardly copying his movements. Yuna shook her head slowly before migrating toward one of the smaller statues near the western wall of the temple, her mind too preoccupied by the New One's words to even begin to formulate a coherent prayer.

He hated his father so much and she loved the man as if he were one of the family. How could such differences of opinion exist about the same man? He claimed his father was cruel and arrogant. But that Jecht simply did not exist in Spira. At least Yuna had never seen him. He had always been kind and gentle to her. She even remembered him mentioning his son once or twice to Yuna. And he always did so with fondness in his voice. Yuna only wished the New One held that same degree of fondness for the man she knew so well.

Her gaze that was once so fixed upon the New One now became locked on the elderly frame of a temple priest as he made his way toward the summoner party. Yuna performed the prayer, bowing deeply to the older man, who did the same in return to her. "Welcome to Kilika Temple, my lady summoner," he said, gathering her hands in his own in an unstable handshake

Yuna smiled warmly at the man before he released her hands and they returned to her sides. "How goes my lady's pilgrimage?"

"It's going very well, thank you. My guardians and I will be heading to Luca for the tournament before we continue on."

"Ah, the Blitzball Tournament. I hear that Maester Mika is to introduce the new Maester Seymour at his arrival in Luca tomorrow," The priest said with a rather cheerful smile.

_Maester...Seymour? Who is Maester Seymour?_ "Maester Seymour?" Yuna asked, voicing her curiosity.

The priest smiled and stroked the silvery white beard coating his chin. "Maester Seymour, my lady, is the son of Maester Jyscal Guado. We received word of Maester Jyscal's death not too long ago, though the replacement hadn't been announced. What I've told you was just the gossip of a few of the parishioners."

Needless to say, Yuna's curiosity was of course heightened. Who was Maester Seymour, that very name sending shivers down her spine? The priest had long since excused himself from Yuna's presence, who merely nodded absently. She was now lost in thought once again. "Seymour," she whispered, the name lingering on her lips. She had heard some of the gossip of the villagers as she and her guardians made their way to Kilika Woods. But she paid it little mind up until now.

Yuna liked to imagine this Maester Seymour as a man with a strong build and caring eyes. And the smile of a god. She liked to think he was gentle and charming and knew all the right things to say to make a girl blush. Maybe he was all these things. Or maybe Yuna was simply daydreaming about a life that remained forever out of her grasp. She would never have the life of a normal girl. She would remain forever known as Braska's Daughter. And if she defeated Sin, she would be remembered as High Summoner Yuna. Otherwise, she would be doomed to live in obscurity, forever in her father's shadow. Only "Braska's Daughter". Never just plain old Yuna.

Kimahri gently beckoned the summoner to the elevator to take them to the Cloister of Trials. Her cheeks blushed and he dashed up the stone steps, past the New One and stood firmly fixed between Wakka and Lulu. Looking back at the New One, she waved to him. "We'll be back as soon as we can," She exclaimed as the elevator descended into the dark depths, taking Yuna and all that she imagined this Maester Seymour to be with it.


End file.
